Military Unit Mistakenly Lands In Perimeter Of Prison

Saturday, July 14th 2007, 2:58 pm

By: News On 6

CANON CITY, Colo. (AP) _ A unit of 25 military paratroopers landed inside the perimeter of a state prison, but not to quell a riot or attempt some movie-script breakout. They just goofed.

The paratroopers, armed with exercise rifles that shoot rubber bullets, landed in a corn field outside the Fremont Correctional Institute early Thursday, Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti said.

Guards escorted them off the grounds with no violence, she told the Rocky Mountain News.

Sanguinetti said she did not know which military unit was involved. She said an investigation is under way but it appears guards handled the inadvertent intrusion correctly.

The newspaper said the Army and Air Force denied knowledge of the episode. The Colorado National Guard did not return a call seeking comment.